Reuben Thorne
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Reuben David Thorne (born January 2, 1975 in Christchurch) is a New Zealand rugby union player, and former captain of the national team, the All Blacks.
Playing as a flanker, Thorne first appeared in the Super 12 with the Canterbury Crusaders in 1998. He became captain in 2002, immediately leading the Crusaders to Super 12 victory in an unprecedented "perfect" season—13 wins from 13 games. In 2003 and 2004 the Crusaders were runners-up in the Super 12 under his leadership.
Thorne was a rarity among All Blacks, especially captains, in that he never made an international appearance at any age-group level. He earned his first All Black cap in 1999, playing a single test against the Springboks before the 1999 Rugby Union World Cup. Taking over as captain from an injured Anton Oliver, he led the All Blacks throughout 2002 and 2003, apart from a brief tour of the UK and France in November 2002 which he missed due to a chronic ankle problem, causing former captain Taine Randell to be briefly recalled to the skipper's role. Although the team's record was excellent under Thorne's leadership (playing 22 test matches for 19 wins and 3 losses, and winning the Tri Nations Series both years and the Bledisloe Cup in 2003), his captaincy ended on a low note as the team was eliminated by the Wallabies in the semi-finals of the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup.
Since then, Thorne has been replaced by Tana Umaga as All Blacks captain, and has in fact not even been selected for the squad since 2003. His appearances for the All Blacks post-2003 were on the 2004 end of year tour, where he was an unused reserve against Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and started as a lock against the Barbarians at Twickenham. He was called in as a replacement for Jono Gibbes, who was ruled out of the tour due to injury. His record as an All Black stands at 42 tests played (22 as captain) for 34 wins and 8 losses, with 5 tries scored.
On May 28, 2006 Thorne was named captain for the 2006 Junior All Blacks season [1], but the next day he withdrew from the squad to undertake "a recovery and reconditioning programme." [2] Thorne was a surprise selection for the All Blacks for the 2006 Tri Nations Series when it was named on 26 June 2006. On 22 July 2006, he played his first test for the All Blacks since the 2003 Rugby World Cup, against the same team he debuted against, the Springboks.
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| New Zealand squad - 2003 Rugby World Cup | ||
|---|---|---|
| Forwards: | Braid • Collins • Flynn • Hammett • Hewett • Hoeft • Holah • Jack • McCaw • Mealamu • Meeuws • Somerville • So'oialo • Thorn • Thorne (c) • Williams |  |
| Backs: | Blair • Carter • Devine • Howlett • Kelleher • MacDonald • Marshall • Mauger • Muliaina • Nonu • Ralph • Rokocoko • Spencer • Umaga | |
| Coach: | Mitchell | |
| New Zealand squad - 2006 Tri Nations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Forwards: | Collins • Eaton • Hayman • Hore • Jack • McCaw (c) • Masoe • Mealamu • Oliver • Rawlinson • Somerville • So'oialo • Thorne • Tialata • Williams • Woodcock | |
| Backs: | Carter • Cowan • Gear • Hamilton • Howlett • Kelleher • McAlister • MacDonald • Mauger • Muliaina • Rokocoko • Sivivatu • Toeava • Tuitupou • Weepu | |
| Coach: | Henry | |
| Crusaders - 2002 Unbeaten Season - Super 12 Champions | ||
|---|---|---|
|
1 Dave Hewett | 2 Mark Hammett | 3 Greg Somerville | 4 Chris Jack | 5 Norm Maxwell | 6 Reuben Thorne | 7 Richie McCaw | 8 Scott Robertson | 9 Justin Marshall | 10 Andrew Mehrtens | 11 Caleb Ralph | 12 Aaron Mauger | 13 Nathan Mauger | 14 Marika Vunibaka | 15 Leon MacDonald | 16 Greg Feek | 17 Corey Flynn | 18 Bradley Mika | 19 Sam Broomhall | 20 Ben Hurst | 21 Joe Maddock | 22 Ben Blair | Nick White | Johnny Leo’o | Mark Robinson | Coach Robbie Deans |
||
